With Opening Day six days away, Guardians¡¯ 26-man roster is continuing to round into shape. On Friday, Cleveland made a series of moves and announcements that added some clarity to the picture.
The Guardians optioned second baseman Juan Brito (their No. 10 prospect, per MLB Pipeline), infielder/outfielder Angel Mart¨ªnez and outfielder Johnathan Rodriguez (No. 13 prospect) to Triple-A Columbus.
Additionally, Cleveland informed four non-roster invitees that they will not make the Opening Day roster: lefties Kolby Allard and Parker Mushinski, right-hander Vince Velasquez and catcher Dom Nu?ez. Those players will remain in camp through the exhibition slate.
The team also reassigned right-handers Luis Fr¨ªas, Bradley Hanner and Zak Kent to Minor League camp.
Here are a few takeaways from the moves.
Second-base picture
Brito and Mart¨ªnez are among a handful of players who have gotten reps at second base this spring. Gabriel Arias (10 starts at second this spring), Tyler Freeman (four, including Friday) and Daniel Schneemann (one) remain in camp.
¡°We still have not finalized everything. We don't know what it's going to end up looking like,¡± manager Stephen Vogt said. ¡°But the combination of Tyler Freeman, Gabby Arias, Daniel Schneemann, those three guys are going to continue to get reps at second base.¡±
With Arias, Freeman and Schneemann¡¯s versatility, the Guardians have an ability to mix and match based upon matchups. Arias has played every position but catcher in the big leagues.
Freeman came up in Cleveland¡¯s system as a middle infielder, and he has played every position but catcher and right field in the Majors. He spent his most time in center last year (731 innings over 97 games). Schneemann played second and third base, shortstop and each outfield spot as a rookie in 2024.
Optioning Brito affords him the opportunity to get everyday reps with Columbus to start the season. The 23-year-old made an impression during his time in camp this spring, coming off of his strong 2024 with Columbus. He hit 21 homers and recorded an .808 OPS in 144 games last season.
¡°Juan had a great camp,¡± Vogt said. ¡°He came in and worked extremely hard. ¡ These are the decisions that come down to the very end, and they're really tough to do.
¡°It¡¯s like we told Juan, he needs to continue to just go play. ¡®Be yourself, play free.¡¯ And I'm sure he¡¯s going to have an opportunity to help us at some point this year.¡±
The pitching-staff picture
With Erik Sabrowski (left elbow inflammation) likely sidelined for Opening Day, Tim Herrin is the only lefty penciled into the Guardians¡¯ bullpen. Allard (1.35 ERA, six appearances) and Mushinski (1.29 ERA, six appearances) each made a strong case to claim a spot as a second southpaw.
Allard also has been stretching out this spring; his 13 1/3 innings (all in relief) rank third on the team entering Friday.
¡°I think he's somebody who can be stretched out to start, as well as impact a bullpen,¡± Vogt said.
Allard and Velasquez each have an upward mobility clause in their Minor League contract. If another team is willing to add either of them to their 40-man roster, the Guardians must add the player to their own 40-man or allow them to go to another club.
Worth noting
Right-hander Triston McKenzie and lefty Joey Cantillo each pitched an inning in relief in Friday's 5-4 loss against the Giants. They are among the starting rotation options in camp, along with Opening Day starter Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams, Ben Lively, Luis Ortiz and Logan Allen.
McKenzie struggled with command of his offspeed stuff early in the seventh, walking two batters as he quickly found himself in a bases-loaded, two-out jam. Pitching coach Carl Willis then paid a visit to the mound.
¡°I came out here to give you a breath so you just can go out there and attack this guy,¡± McKenzie recalls WIllis telling him.
That seemed to be enough to get the 27-year-old righty settle down and get his second strikeout to escape the inning unscathed.
Things didn¡¯t go as well for Cantillo, however. He gave up a go-ahead three-run home run with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning to Brett Wisely.
Despite the mixed results, Vogt said he won¡¯t judge the performances too harshly, as he knows the challenges that come with pitching in relief when someone¡¯s used to being a starter.
¡°It's a tough thing to do. I don't ever want to discount that,¡± he said. ¡°When you've been a starter for a long time, and then you have to go try to come out of the bullpen and work on that, it's a different feeling. So we're not going to judge somebody off of one time or anything like that.
¡°It's a difficult transition, and we're going to see how it goes. We still have a lot of decisions to make.¡±